Bannu police also go on strike as another cop martyred

BANNU: Like Lakki Marwat and Bajaur, the Bannu police also launched a protest movement after the martyrdom of one of their colleagues on Thursday.

A cop Noor Alam Khan, who was on polio duty, was martyred by unidentified attackers near the Refugee camp in the jurisdiction of Domail Police Station.

Following the incident, all the cops made announcements asking their colleagues to boycott polio duty and gather at the Amn Chowk for staging a protest.

As the cops along with their weapons from police stations and police posts gathered and blocked the roads for vehicular traffic. The traders, local government representatives and a large number of residents also joined the protest sit-in to show solidarity with them.

Soon after the incident, District Police Officer (DPO) Zia Ahmad rushed to the spot and started negotiation with the protesting cops. However, the cops refused to end the protest and continued blocking the road and chanting slogans for taking revenge of their colleague.

The DPO asked for one hour to take revenge of slain cop and requested the protesters to end the demonstration. However, the protesters refused to listen and placed the body of the slain cop at the protest site.

Later, news came that the killer of cop had been killed in an encounter. The body of the attacker was brought to the protesters in an armoured vehicle and showed to the protesters but they were still not satisfied.

The protesters later presented a charter of demands and asked the DPO to exempt police from polio duty. They also demanded that they should be provided with verified information about police encounters.

The protesting cops also demanded that duty schedules and information should not be shared with other law enforcing agencies.

They requested that access to thermal cameras installed at police stations be strictly limited to the police stations and police posts. The DPO accepted the demands but still there was a deadlock to end the protest.